Driving Route 66 In a GT-40

We were dragging our feet a little the next morning, as we had stayed up the previous night swapping stories whilst watching car and aircraft videos. With our first load of laundry done and the bags back in the GT-40, we were on our way to the London Cobra Show.

London must be getting close, I thought as we passed four Cobras heading off somewhere in the opposite direction. With my navigational skills now finely tuned, and after acquiring an expert's understanding of the federal highway numbering system, we had successfully reached London on time.

Having left an Australian winter only days earlier, I certainly was not prepared for the heat and humidity in London, and after quickly registering we headed to the cool of our room. That evening I wandered through the motels' car parks around the registration point, meeting with other enthusiasts and generally checking the Cobras parked there. I took the opportunity to catch up with the many people I had met in 2003 at the Run & Gun, as well as some ClubCobra forum users.

The three-day London event saw us participating in the parade, then the street drags, taking locals down Main Street at speed. Excited locals lined up for rides in the GT-40, handing over their $10 donation to the Cystic Fibrosis volunteers. Meanwhile, Hershel spent many hours explaining the GT-40's build and answering dozens of questions about our trip from Phoenix, like how long the trip took and were we comfortable.

After the show we left late in the day for our trip back to Oxford, Ohio, to finish off the work on Rolf's GT-40. Arriving just before a large thunderstorm, we were soon in the garage with his car up on stands and completing some minor adjustments to gearbox selector cables and interior fittings. Hershel's GT-40, parked on the driveway out front with our bags still stored, was now exposed to the heavy rain and lightning flashing all around us.

The next day we cleaned the leaves and small tree branches from around our car. It was not long before we noticed lightning had struck the rear clip, nearly melting the metal pin. Closer examination revealed that the lightning had burned a number of large holes in the pin. How lucky we were being under the house, away from the storm! A quick run down to Evansville, Indiana, saw us catching up with longtime friend Wayne Turpin. I was fortunate to travel with Wayne to the Run & Gun event in 2003, and Wayne's son and nephew were returning from Australia after spending two weeks with my family. A quick garage tour with Wayne revealed the unusual number of 427 engines he has just laying around, along with a large collection of garage memorabilia. After checking our pockets and bags for anything we may have picked up, Wayne gave us a ride to Outback Steakhouse. He had organized a few of the local Cobra owners to join us, and I was able to enjoy a true Aussie meal there. It's amazing how the love of cars brings people together from all parts of the world, all sharing that one common interest, though some believe the one common desire is to keep the bills hidden from our partners!

The next day we found we had a slow leak in the rear tire, which we attributed to running over some retread from a truck on the highway the evening before. Wayne was quick to respond to our call with his electric air pump and we were able to get to the local tire shop, where we purchased a repair kit. We decided to just drive on until we reached Elk City, as we both felt a little fatigue in the GT-40.

We had decided earlier we needed to be back in Phoenix in a couple of days if we were going to clean the GT-40 throughout and head to the SAAC event at California Speedway in Fontana. The last leg of the trip saw us reach our objective as we drove through Hershel's front gate in Phoenix at 7:30 p.m.

Even though 6,100 miles of our epic trip had been completed, I walked around the car and had this urge to do it all again. When it comes to all-around comfort, the Roaring Forties GT-40 is a clear winner. With over 45,000 miles showing on the speedo, I was convinced Robert Logan had also built a reliable and practical GT-40, one that will go on and on.

My relationship with the GT-40 was now over, and I realized that to go beyond first base I would need to admit to Robert when I got back to Australia that he was right and I was now a GT-40 owner-in-waiting. (But maybe a quick trip in my Cobra as soon as I get back will cure me!) Perhaps a road trip to the center of Australia. That's the Princes Highway west, then north on the Stuart Highway, but it might be easier to follow west on 31, then right on 5 north. And perhaps Roaring Forties may have a GT-40 I can use. There it is again. That song is back in my head. Whilst a large proportion of the Mother Road is perhaps gone forever, I think the Route 66 song and the time spent with Hershel will stay in my head for a long time to come.

If you plan to motor west Travel my way, take the highway, that's the best . . . KC